The Old Managua

we hand wash all of our clothes

at first I found this peculiar, not because it's something that I don't have the ability to do or haven't done before, but because I live in a house with internet and cable

so why isn't there a washing machine?

there are three reasons for this,

one. the water supply here is limited. I haven't gotten a full understanding of how the system works here, mostly because it's a difficult conversation to try to have in Spanish. What I do know however, is that the last time I tried to take a shower and there was no water we went outside, climbed up a little ladder, and opened the lid of a tank full of water to check the level. After seeing there was plenty of water we followed the hose that streamed the water only to find it was wound very tightly. After unwinding the hose the water flowed freely again. The likelihood of a full blown washer working on this system is very slim

two. the beautiful weather. Line drying here is a a 30 second process. In the city of Managua as well as other parts of the country the weather is extremely hot everyday. Temperatures fall between 90 and 95 degrees daily (that's 32 and 37 degrees for our good ole centigrade users i.e. the entire world) The heat is something you get accustomed to, even fall in love with if your here more than a week. Everyday is a comfortable, sunny day.

three. the opportunity to converse. My host mother Marina has a sister Janet who comes a few times a week to help out cooking and cleaning the house. When I first met her she was very quiet. She would go about her chores around the house with swift silence, but when I looked at her I knew she had plenty to say.

My opportunity to truly speak to her came during a Wednesday. She came to my room and said "Disculpame muchacha, vos tenes algo para lavar?" It took me a moment to realize she was asking to wash my clothes. Of course this was not going to happen. I picked up all of my clothes and went outside to learn the system here in Nica.

It's a pretty efficient process that she can do twice as fast as I can. Basically it involves running water, a lot of different barrels, pre soaking, the works. During that time however, I had the chance to get to know her. She talked about her children, how much she loved her country. Mostly she told me about the Old Managua. A huge part of the history of this city was the earthquake of 1972. 90 percent of Managua was destroyed. After that the road to recovery was bleak. Skyscrapers no longer exist here and the construction of the roads that mostly are nameless, the layout of the city, the poverty that exists, is evidence that there was a great tragedy here.

But even with the tragedy, the city loves you. Everything about it is so completely welcoming.

"Habria adorada la cuidad vieja. Fue hermosa" she said, clearly reminiscing about the beauty of the lost Managua.

"Todavia es hermosa" I said. There was the slightest grin. Then she wrung the wet clothes and hung them up to dry.